There are several reasons to remain drug free, the least of which is how mixing drugs and alcohol can impact you physically, and legally. Possession charges can lead to jail time, but when you take the wheel of a car and combine drugs and alcohol the legal equation becomes quite difficult. DUI charges become enhanced when drugs are involved and you can be looking at hard jail time if you do not act fast. This is true even if you are dealing with a seemingly harmless substance, such as marijuana.

A lot of people look at smoking marijuana as nothing more serious than smoking a cigarette. And, with a handful of states legalizing the drug it is easy to take for granted some of the side effects of the substance. For instance, you might be surprised to learn that marijuana can stay in your system up to thirty days, and those thirty days can be reason enough to avoid the temptation to “smoke a little weed”. Here are some of the things that can happen if you smoke marijuana and then drink and drive:

  • The charges against you will include DUI as well as possession, making it necessary to defend multiple criminal charges as well as fight for the right to maintain your driving privileges.
  • DUI’s that include drugs are a higher class of criminal charge and may be more difficult to keep off your record.
  • You may not be able to seek an expungement of a DUI that also involves drugs.

The police have the power to test you for substances other than alcohol if they believe those other substances exist when you are pulled over. If you are required to take a blood test rather than simply blowing into a breath test machine, the results are a little more difficult to challenge. Blood tests typically yield more reliable results than do simple breath tests, but that does not mean you do not have a defense. What it does mean though is that you have to act fast and provide your attorney with the information needed to develop a defense as soon as possible. Call us today to learn more about how drugs and alcohol don’t mix well in the eyes of the law.

If you have questions about DUI and possession charges, call a competent criminal defense attorney in Stuart and the Treasure Coast for help. Call us to schedule an appointment.